Evaluating pharmacy benefit management information on the Internet: purpose, structure, technology, and content.

A wealth of health information is available on the Internet today. However, little is known about how to evaluate its quality and content. This exploratory analysis examined the Internet sites of 71 pharmacy benefit management firms that were operational in late 1999 by using components of several existing evaluation tools. Variables were used that incorporated interactive marketing strategy, technology features, and content. The principal findings suggest that health information on the Internet can and should be evaluated by users on dimensions such as purpose, structure, technology, and content. However, further work will be required to develop and test criteria.

Managed care and medication compliance: implications for chronic depression.

An emerging trend within managed care, "disease management" (DM), will affect consumers and providers of mental health services, clinicians, and mental health administrators. Central to DM programs is the idea that particular diseases, especially chronic illnesses (including depression), can be "carved out" and managed. Pharmaceutical benefit management (PBM) firms may specialize in managing prescription benefits for employers and other managed care organizations by using DM programs. However, given what is known from the theoretical and empirical literature on adherence to medication for chronic illnesses such as depression, it is questionable whether the techniques that are used by PBMs will be effective in managing illnesses that require a multifaceted approach to care. Because the management of antidepressants may have an impact on members of vulnerable populations (e.g., the elderly), more research is required on the approaches used by PBMs and on the cost and quality of the services provided.

Autobiographical memory in a case of multiple personality disorder.

Previous research on multiple personality disorder (MPD) has been concerned with between-personalities amnesia, and little attention has been paid to within-personality memory function. This study examined the autobiographical memory of a multiple personality patient, I.C., with cueing procedures that have proven useful in previous studies of normal and abnormal memory. Results indicated that I.C. was able to retrieve autobiographical episodes from the recent past, although her performance differed in several respects from that of matched controls. The study also revealed a striking deficit in I.C.'s autobiographical memory for childhood: She was unable to recall a single episode from prior to the age of 10 in response to various retrieval cues, whereas control subjects had no difficulty recalling numerous childhood episodes. This phenomenon of extended childhood amnesia has not been reported previously in studies of MPD.